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Europe and the U.S. signed joint statement to stop illegal fishing

Sep 8, 2011

There is increasing need for international cooperation, especially among major fishing and seafood-importing nations, to improve global fisheries management of shared marine resources and to preserve the associated employment and other economic benefits of sustainable fisheries. The agreement signed by the European Union and the United States is an important step toward achieving these goals, commiting the EU and the U.S. to work together to adopt the most effective tools to combat illegal fishing. It commits them to continue to strengthen monitoring and enforcement of management measures in their role as parties to regional fishery management organizations and to various international treaties, and commits them to using tools that prevent (illegal, unreported and unregulated) IUU operators from benefiting economically from their illegal activities.

The new agreement includes a system to exchange information on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) activities; promotes management measures at regional fishery management organizations that strengthen the control, monitoring and enforcement of vessels operation within certain areas; encourages other countries to ratify and implement the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Committee on Fisheries’ Port State Measures Agreement; and promotes the sustainable use of fisheries resources while preserving marine biodiversity.

BILAT-USA (Grant Agreement no: 244434) and Link2US (Grant Agreement no: 244371) Projects are co-funded by the European Union’s Capacities Programme on International Cooperation under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Cooperation.